Bhubaneswar: Amid ruckus by Opposition BJP and Congress over Archana Nag blackmailing case, the state government Thursday tabled a Supplementary Budget of Rs 16,800 crore for financial year (FY) 2022- 23 in the state Assembly. Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Minister Pradip Kumar Amat presented the budget on behalf of Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari, who was absent in the House Thursday.
Out of the total supplementary provision, Rs 9,200 crore has been allocated towards programme expenditure, Rs 4,934 crore towards administrative expenditure, Rs 2,610 crore towards disaster management and Rs 55.54 crore for transfer to local bodies (PRIs and ULBs). Out of Rs 4,934 crore administrative expenditure, Rs 3,700 crore has been set aside for budget stabilisation fund and Rs 173 crore for maintenance of schools and primary health centres (PHCs) by gram panchayats.
Under disaster risk mitigation plan, the state government has allocated Rs 200 crore for assistance to the farmers affected by crop loss during Kharif season of 2021.
Notably, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has recently announced the aid for drought-hit farmers, eying Padampur bypoll. Out of Rs 9,200 crore earmarked for programme expenditure, the highest Rs 2,084 crore has been allocated for education, sports and skill development sector while Rs 867 crore is allocated for public health.
Similarly, Rs 782 crore has been earmarked for urban development and Rs 128 crore for promotion of culture and tourism. Likewise, Rs 388 crore has been allocated for energy, IT, commerce, transport and R&D sectors taken together. The government has also provided Rs 552 crore for rural housing, wage employment, provision of drinking water and rural infrastructure. Further, Rs 172 crore has been set aside for women and child development, Rs 438 crore for ST & SC Development and Minority & Backward Class Welfare initiatives and Rs 306.65 crore for irrigation facilities, farmers’ welfare and food security.
This will help propel economic growth and at the same time enable the state to carry forward different developmental and welfare programmes, official sources said. Notably, the Supplementary Budget outlay of the state in FY 2021-22 was Rs 19,833 crore.